The 10 common misconceptions in feng shui. I wrote this article in response to some of the more commonly misunderstood and commonly believed aspects of feng shui in order to offer a little clarity to the customers I consult and also my readers. All of the instances listed below are well-known feng shui beliefs (by even people with just passing knowledge of feng shui) although I found out most only have surface understanding and often believed at face-value, just because it was written in a book or said by someone famous. Some of the misconception had caused needless worry and in some cases panic. The problem is some of them are also perpetuated by feng shui practitioners themselves. Whether it was through erroneous knowledge or just simple misunderstanding I will never know.

The 10 common feng shui misconceptions below are the findings based on my own practical feng shui consultation experience while in the field and the actual results I got back. I hope this article can offer some clearer understanding and help clear up the confusion. 🙂

1) Doors directly facing each other will cause bad blood and quarrels

Only if one of the doors is smaller than the other and only if the doors happened to open into the negative sector of your property; plus both doors have to be open. Just having doors facing each other by itself does not create adversarial or antagonistic feelings or situations. More than anything my first reaction will be to question the character/personality of the occupants rather than the feng shui of the doors. When I was younger, I had been living in public housing where the main doors were directly opposite those of the neighbour’s in close proximity (about 2 to 3m apart). The doors are open most of the day and there were hardly any quarrels. If anything, everyone was friendly and visited each other often. And this applied to many of the neighbouring units too. Plus nowadays in the newer apartment blocks, most people will just keep their doors closed even when they are at home so it is not really a problem anymore. Having said that, it is very undesirable if yours and your neighbour’s house layout happen to be like point number 5 and you have a window-to-door-to-door-to-window arrangement. Especially when all the windows and doors are all kept open.

2) Door opening out onto a staircase and stairs going down will cause your luck to “flow” out of the house

Only if the door is very near the stairs outside and the stairs themselves are steep and long. This will create a negative feng shui feature known as “Pulling Nose Sha”. If the stairs are wide, in a gentle incline and short then we do not have this problem, at least not at a scale that’s appreciable. Or else many large hotels, shopping malls and office buildings with these features would had suffered lost and likely gone out of business a long time ago. Likewise for the people living in houses with steps lead down from their main door.

3) A house located at the end of a long road will invite bad luck for its occupants and it’s close cousin, a house located at the meeting points of a T-junction is considered extremely unlucky

Only if the road is a busy one with fast moving vehicles heading TOWARDS the house, particularly if the main door is also facing the oncoming traffic. This forms what is known as the “Rushing Qi Sha”. Often in the cul-de-sac there will be a roundabout at the end. The house located at the end of the cul-de-sac with the traffic heading AWAY from it is not likely to be affected. Often just a hedge placed on the lawn in between the offending road and the house is enough to correct the problem. Alternatively, if the road is not heavily used, has slow moving traffic and more importantly, happens to have the main door open into the house’s auspicious sector, it may actually be very prosperous for the occupants.

4) In the kitchen, the stove cannot be placed directly opposite the sink

This misconception has to do with the sentence “fire and water clash opposite each other” found in classical feng shui texts. In modern context, the belief that when the stove or microwave or oven is opposite a sink or fridge or washing machine is inauspicious (what does that even mean anyway?) is an exaggeration. Considering that in Singapore (and many Asian countries) most of our public housing is small and limited in space so the chances of having a sink and stove next to or directly opposite each other is almost a given. And if the statement “fire and water opposite each other is inauspicious” then we would see a lot of troubled families but so far in my experience any problem arising is mostly from locating the stove at the incorrect location than having it opposite a sink.

5) Wealth luck will “leak away” if there is a window directly in-line opposite the main door

Yes and no. In feng shui, Qi comes in 2 basic forms; as Sha (negative) Qi if very fast moving or Sheng (positive) Qi if slow and gentle. So if you have both the window and door open at the same time and both of them are in-line with each other, very fast moving Qi will just travel in from one end and out the other without stopping and not given a chance to “gather”. Imagine a very strong wind coming into the house then exiting the next second. But please do not misunderstand me. Having some wind blowing through your house is good as it brings in fresh Qi and moves the stagnant ones but it is quite another story to have the house feel like a wind tunnel for testing jet fighters. The issue here is the speed. Qi must be slow enough for it to be able to flow throughout the whole house to benefit the occupants before exiting again. The simplest solution to this problem is just to close either the door or the window or just place a piece of furniture like a foldable screen across the path between the door and window to slow down the Qi, forcing it to meander than to travel in a straight line.

6) Where you install you mirror and it’s size will affect your feng shui

The idea most likely came from the convex reflective surface found on a Taoist bagua mirror that the olden day Chinese used to hang above their entrances and doors to deflect negative influences. So by association, mirrors are thought to be able to reflect or deflect feng shui energy flow or Qi anywhere in the house like a beam of light. The problem is, Qi is not light. For one thing, according to classical feng shui text, Qi tends to “flow” from high to low and it “gathers” at the lowest point of any given place, very much like water does. Light does not. Another misconception is the “space” created by a mirror’s reflection can be influenced by feng shui. Such as using it to create space in order to replace a sector of the house that is physically missing. Feng shui only works in the physical realm while the mirrored space is an illusion.

7) The bed cannot have a mirror or any highly reflective surface facing it

This one is purely psychological and common sense rather than feng shui per se. When you first wake up from your sleep most likely you will be a little disoriented and your mind hazy. The first impression of someone looking back at you or in the same room as you (especially if you live alone) created by the reflection in a mirror during that mental state will definitely come as a nasty surprise for anyone. By the way, if you claim you can see images or shadows moving in your mirror even while lying in bed, then feng shui might not be your problem. 🙂

8) The bed cannot be placed against a window

Well, again yes and no. While it is generally true that you should not have your bed placed up against a window, it is not a major no-no. Other more important factors need to taken into consideration first; like not placing the bed under a ceiling beam, not placing the bed across the bedroom door or ensuite toilet door and not placing the bed within a negative sector in the bedroom. Sometimes in order to avoid these negative aspects or even just because of something mundane like space limitations within the bedroom, you have no choice but to place the bed under the window. But this is not a big issue since most people will likely have curtains or blinds installed on the windows. Just close the curtains/blinds when you go to sleep. Poof! No more problem.

9) Water is wealth

This is the worst culprit of all due to the common belief that “Water = Wealth”. This misconception perpetuated the desire for swimming pools, lakes, ponds or any large body of water in front of, or at least near, the property. Although water, if used and located correctly, can bring about wealth opportunities and sometimes windfall; if used incorrectly or located at the wrong location can bring about the opposite effect or worst. Then there are the various conditions to the types of water; is it still? Is it moving? If yes, then how fast? In feng shui, water is merely an activator. It does not create nor attract wealth by itself. And since we are on the subject of water, I might as well address the belief that the type and number of fishes you have in an aquarium will also bring wealth. In reality they do not bring wealth unless we are talking about keeping them as an investment like a prized koi or champion arrowana. Then there is the, in lieu of real water, pictures or paintings of water (often in the form of “feng shui paintings”) being used. How can a picture or photograph affect one’s feng shui since it does absolutely nothing to the Qi flow of a property? The effect is like giving a person a picture of a burger to stop his hunger when he is starving instead of the real thing. That said, like the fishes, they are fine if used as a decoration or as an investment but as a feng shui tool, the only people laughing all the way to the bank will be the sellers.

This is the most common expectation that I regularly have to manage with people who come to me for advice. Consider this, if that be true, feng shui practitioners will be the most powerful people on the planet, no? Anyway, feng shui is only just one third of the equation. The other two being your destiny and your own actions, or lack thereof. What good feng shui really does is to create a harmonic and conducive environment for your health, to create and increase more opportunities for love and/or wealth. Whether any of these things come true for you or not depends on what you choose to do with the opportunities and how well they come true for you will depend on your destiny. There is a Chinese saying that goes 一命二运三风水四积荫德五读书. Translated it means first destiny, second luck, third feng shui, fourth charity and fifth education. There is also a saying that goes: “Your destiny shows you the problem or potential and feng shui offers the solution to both of them”. In practice it goes like this: first know your destiny and your (level of) luck then strengthen it with feng shui, charity and education. This makes perfect sense because you need to identify the problem before you can come up with a solution, don’t you agree?

In today’s feng shui environment, erroneous information and half-baked understanding are perpetuated by the internet, books and even teachers; often “parroting” from other magazines, books and teachers, and the cycle goes on. Even so, we work hard to keep our courses and workshops practical, logical and based on actual experiences. If you want to know what practical feng shui is and are interested, please drop me a line in the comments box below or write to me on my email and I well get back to you with the details. By the way, in addition to feng shui workshops in Singapore, we also have Astrology workshops in Bali, Indonesia. You can reach me at stanley@tenki.sg 🙂

for you and your loved ones!

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Let’s enhance your luck in the year of the Fire Monkey during the 1st day of Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year 2016 is just 2 days away and I thought it would be great if readers of this feng shui blog can enhance their luck in the year of the Fire Monkey in some way with out too much effort. So I decided to consolidate the auspicious dates and times for you to follow on the 1st day of Chinese New Year and be blessed with auspiciousness and prosperity! 😀

Welcoming the God of Wealth (or rather the year’s arriving Wealth energy)

During the first day of Chinese New Year on 8th February 2016 at 1am to 3am, open all windows or door if you have them facing EAST (1ST CHOICE) or SOUTHWEST (2ND CHOICE)

If you do not have any door or windows* facing these directions, then you will have to wait till next year. Alternatively you can do the next step as written below.

*if you happen to have windows or door facing directly northeast or southeast, you can physically stand at the window or door facing the East to welcome the arriving Wealth energy.

Suggestion: While standing at the spot, imagine what you want in 2016 clearly in your mind and make a wish. It is a very good sign if you can feel a breeze.

Auspicious Timings for heading out of the house during the First day of Chinese New Year (8th Feb)

After leaving the house, walk or drive towards the East or Southwest from wherever you are during Chinese New Year to encounter and enjoy Prosperity Luck for the rest of the year before heading towards your destination. If it is too early to go anywhere, you can go for a walk towards these 2 directions near your home. Just follow the compass direction on your smartphone.

5am to 7am (not for those born in year of Rooster)

9am to 11am (not for those born in year of Pig)

Avoid heading towards the Northwest or West between 11am to 3pm if possible

Do share with others if you find this article useful so everyone will have a great year! 🙂

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Moving into a new house can be both a joy and a headache due to the incredible number of things that you must do and keep track of. But auspicious dates for moving should not be one of them because it sets the tone of the inherent energies that will affect the luck of the people staying inside positively or negatively.

Date Selection is an old ancient practice that began (perhaps even before) in the Han Dynasty (206BC to 220AD) with many historical texts containing references to the use of date selection in military warfare and state matters.

Date Selection, to sum it up, is about going with the flow with the Universe and the Cosmos, the cyclical concept of time and energy. The concept is easy to understand – the objective of date selection is to carry out an activity at a point in time when the Universe’s energies are supportive of, or are optimized for that event. Application of date selection also helps with getting things done more efficiently and effectively! When you move into a new property, you are also carrying that day’s energy (hopefully it is personally auspicious) into your new home or office to settle and remain. And because you are more than likely going to spend long periods of time in either one, it is all the more important to make sure that the energy inside is a totally supportive and harmonious one. 🙂

So to help you bring general good fortune and harmony into your new premises, these are the auspicious dates for moving into a new home or office, for the year 2016:

January – 3, 9, 16, 24, 28,

February – 3, 4, 6, 15, 18, 19, 24,

March – 1, 6, 8, 18, 20, 23, 26, 30

April – 1, 5, 25, 30

May – 3, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 23, 27, 28

June – 2, 6, 7, 15, 18, 19, 27

July – 1, 3, 8, 16, 20, 21, 26, 28

August – 1, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, 18, 22, 28

September – 2, 3, 8, 10, 14, 20, 22, 25, 28

October – 4, 7, 15, 17, 26, 27, 29, 31

November – 5, 14, 17, 18, 23, 29

December – 5, 8, 9, 21, 28

* Note that these dates, as with ALL dates found on the Internet, are general and generic in nature (read: if you just want a date that is merely good enough) – and are not yet fine-tuned to suit your birth chart and does not yet include fine-tuning of auspicious hours. Also, what is important, is NOT when your furniture (with the exception of the bed if you are a newly married couple) goes in. The key focus is on the very FIRST night you spend in your new home.

As you and your family will be spending at least some years in the house, even if it is a rented one, it is very important that a very auspicious date and hour be chosen according to the birth dates and birth times of all the family members staying there. This is to ensure that the energies you bring into the house on the first day is very lucky and harmonious for everyone as this will help determine the overall luck and harmony within the house. In my experience doing date selection consultations, choosing a wrong day and a wrong time can cause potentially all kinds of problems within the family with lots of quarrels and bickering, just weeks after moving into the new house. There are even cases where some family members are choosing to stay late outside of the house or finding excuses to get out of the house again after just coming back.

So please consider choosing a properly selected date and time for the total harmony, overall happiness and peace of mind for yourself and everyone else in the family.

By the way just so you know, a proper move-in date is divided into 2 categories: 入宅 and 移徙. The first refers to moving into a totally new house while the second refers to moving into a previously occupied house (eg. resale or rented flat). The problem is, what is good for one might not be the best for another. What you see above does not differentiate between the two, just like the dates found in every magazine, most books or the internet.

The most important date and time is when you and everyone else start staying in the new house together inside the first day (at least till the next morning). Moving of items from the old home or anywhere else does not constitute moving as they does not affect the energies of the new house to any appreciable effect. You can move your furniture or any household items anytime it is convenient for you.

If you really want to know what is the ideal day and time that is both harmonious and lucky for the whole family in any given month or range of months,the basic fee is only SGD$20. You will receive 3 sets of personally auspicious dates and times, in order of auspiciousness, so you can shift at your most convenient and plan which is the best day to move. (If for whatever reason the original dates are not usable, another 3 sets of auspicious dates and times will be provided at no charge). Further instructions for greater prosperity will also be provided to you for the actual move-in day. For a more professional and in-depth auspicious date selection for moving, you can click here. Thank you.

Now for the not-so-fun part…

All the auspicious dates above are provided as a free service and it is fine if you want to check whether the date (singular) you already picked to move is auspicious or not but please do not send me your birthdays and ask what is the best or most ideal move-in date or what are the good dates in 2016, etc. because they are, for obvious reasons, only available to paying customers. Also, kindly avoid fishing for dates with multiply choices (I will randomly just pick a date from the list above) or multiple posts or wait until the last minute to ask for the best move-in date. All of these kind of posts will likely end up in the trash unanswered and I have deleted many.

The irony is, visitors often do not read all the way here to realise why their request went unanswered.